Weekend Box Office: SAG-AFTRA Strike Shows Impact

While a major storm impacts the Pacific Coast numbers, it’s likely that the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are impacting the weekend box office. Both Barbie and Oppenheimer are aided in their success by the fact that their publicity campaigns started ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike. Warner Bros. was so focused in launching Barbie that they likely didn’t even have Blue Beetle on their mind yet. It definitely did not do the film any favors by…

"Weekend Box Office: SAG-AFTRA Strike Shows Impact"

Thanksgiving Box Office Update: Not Good for Strange World, Devotion

The updates are in for the Thanksgiving weekend box office and it’s not good news for either Strange World or Devotion. One takeaway from this weekend is that we’re still not back to the pre-pandemic numbers. This weekend’s box office is down 12% compared to last year. It’s not even close to what the numbers were in 2018. Will numbers return to normal next year or is this going to be the new normal? When…

"Thanksgiving Box Office Update: Not Good for Strange World, Devotion"

Streaming Continues To Hurt Thanksgiving Box Office

With the rising costs of tickets at movie theaters, make no mistake that streaming is continuing to have an impact at the box office. It isn’t necessarily the cost of tickets though as it could be the subject of a film. A story could still be important viewing but it might not be subject matter that falls under entertaining and enjoyable. Take a film like She Said, for instance. It flopped over it’s opening weekend…

"Streaming Continues To Hurt Thanksgiving Box Office"

Bros Flops As Comedies Continue Box Office Struggle

Bros, a long-overdue LGBTQ studio rom-com, flopped upon its theatrical release with a reported box office of under $5 million. The film’s estimated $4.8 million was good enough for a fourth place finish at the box office. It will land on Peacock in just under 45 days from now where it is sure to find an audience. Unfortunately, the film’s box office performance is not good for the future of LGBTQ-centric movies being released by…

"Bros Flops As Comedies Continue Box Office Struggle"

Box Office: West Side Story, Nightmare Alley Struggle

For the second week in a row, an Oscar-winning filmmaker has seen their new film–a remake–struggle at the box office. Names like Steven Spielberg or Guillermo del Toro should command your attention. Instead, their films are not making the money. It’s possible that the pandemic is affecting their box office revenue. However, this can’t entirely be the case because Spider-Man: No Way Home just ate up the box office with one of the biggest opening…

"Box Office: West Side Story, Nightmare Alley Struggle"

What happened with Indie Films at the Box Office in August?

August has been a down month at the box office even as we head towards a Labor Day weekend that won’t see the studios release a huge film.  But for so many films selected for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, it’s been an even bigger struggle to make a dent. Throw in the wide releases this past month and the box office is really telling.  Overall weekend grosses have dropped from $122,787,691 at the start…

"What happened with Indie Films at the Box Office in August?"

Studio Tentpoles are hurting this summer

There’s no denying the power that Rotten Tomatoes has on making or breaking a studio tentpole. This is something that we’ve been seeing at the box office since the summer movie season started.  Studio tentpoles aren’t critic-proof no matter how many times these actors or filmmakers say that it wasn’t made for the critics.  Critics are people, too.  The first thing I ask myself when I start to write a screenplay is whether it’s a…

"Studio Tentpoles are hurting this summer"

Box Office: The Mummy tanks for Universal

Universal Pictures was hoping a reboot of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise would launch their Dark Universe franchise.  Unfortunately for the studio, critics and audiences alike panned the film. Starring Tom Cruise, the Alex Kurtzman-directed film finished this weekend in second place with an estimated $32.2 million at the box office.  In addition to Cruise, the film stars Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance and Russell Crowe.  Taking into account the four…

"Box Office: The Mummy tanks for Universal"

Summer Box Office: Is Tentpole Fatigue in Play?

Memorial Day used to mark the kick-off of the summer movie box office season but that changed the minute that Sony dated Spider-Man for release at the start of May 2002. Many films released this past month have opened below studio expectations.  Are audiences tired of these tentpoles or are movies thought to be critic-proof no longer critic-proof?  Before I started writing reviews regularly, I would turn to the likes of Roger Ebert for my…

"Summer Box Office: Is Tentpole Fatigue in Play?"